They are also looking for interesting fabrics to make the costumes from, especially things like velvet, satin, cotton and braids and trims suitable for noble clothing, in rich and natural colours. They will need to be hard wearing because of the handling by the public that they will receive, and machine-washable. Apparently this is nothing to do with the Post Office - the ATM is owned by a separate company and they decided to start charging for withdrawals. When Captain's Walk was renovated a plaque was put up to commemorate the person who first created the Walk - Captain Thomas Phillips of Havard House, Brecon (more recently the Ursuline Convent). The plaque said that Captain Phillips was the author of A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal 1693 -94 to Africa and Barbadoes. The walking book didn't even mention the hill fort which is clearly marked on the OS map by Poston Lodge (I'm beginning to think it is of dubious usefulness), and this looked far more interesting, especially since both the Lodge and the hillfort are described in Pevsner. Poston Lodge was built as a hunting box in 1780. Anne and Derek Addyman own several bookshops in Hay including Addyman Books, the Addyman Annexe and Murder and Mayhem below.

She begins with the Normans, and the castle, and ends with Richard Booth creating a Booktown, coming right up to date. The Old Electric Bookshop is the newest bookshop in Hay-on-Wye and opened its doors in October 2019. It’s an offshoot of the popular cafe and shop called The Old Electric Shop (it’s easy to confuse the two!). After a fairly general session last week, this meeting was more focussed on the up-coming climate action on October 7th and the weeks following that.On Sunday, though, I had the chance to join the Kilvert Walk led by Oliver Balch, as part of the Hay Independence celebrations. Honesty Bookshop – there will be a canvas canopy for shelter, but as it’s December please wear warm clothing. I feel you've got to have at least one traditional meal over Christmas (I'm going to have a very untraditional game casserole on Christmas Day), so for one meal I went for the turkey and Christmas pudding option. There were plenty of vegetables, the meat was tender, and the custard for the pudding was lovely. The changes come in on November 17th, earlier than expected because Grange University Hospital near Cwmbran has opened four months early to help cope with the expected increase in Covid-19 cases over the winter.

The latest timetable I've seen, shared on Facebook, shows buses leaving Hay for Hereford at 7.24am, 10.24am, 12.24pm and 16.34, with buses coming from Hereford to Hay at 8.35am, 11.35am and 13.35. The service appears to be split between the T14 and the 914, which runs from Hay to Hereford at 7.27am and from Hereford to Hay at 16.33 and 17.40.

The Kingdom of Hay

In 2012, the Blorenge Golden Ale won Three Gold Stars at the Great Taste Awards, which is run by the Guild of Fine Foods. Outside the old Laura Ashley shop, there was a skiffle band. They were playing Putting on the Style when I passed, and they had CDs for sale. We started, around 20 of us, at The End, the shop on Castle Street which was used for the Wayzgoose the day before. In the window was a special offer - a copy of Oliver Balch's book Under the Tump, about the local area, with a free goose egg! The interior decor is beautiful and it feels a bit like browsing in an aesthetic living room. The walls are painted a blush pink, and there are loads of indoor plants and even record players dotted around.